After that, we don’t know if the excise tax will be suspended or merely lowered. Oil companies are being asked to absorb some of the losses by tempering the eye-watering jumps in pump prices. Their reaction boils down to, why doesn’t the government instead absorb the impact, by suspending both the excise tax and the EVAT? This crisis is highlighting the failure of successive administrations to build a strategic national oil reserve, as stipulated in the Oil Deregulation Law. If BBM waits until mid-April or later to grant the excise tax relief, whether or not the Middle East conflict is over, he risks being tagged as too late the hero.

Source: Philippine Star March 26, 2026 20:31 UTC